The Deepest Breath

This poetic middle-grade coming-out story addresses living with anxiety and the power of representation through the eyes of a precocious pre-teen.

Knowing things makes 11-year-old Stevie feel safe and in control, but she feels "over-over-overwhelmed" by her growing list of unknown things. Her mom suggests narrowing it down to what she wants to know about the most, like "the ocean and... why it's so scary" or "knots." While books help her understand the ocean and knots, there isn't anything to help her figure out the most important unknown: the "fizzy feeling" she gets in her chest when she looks at her friend Chloe. When her mom doesn't quite grasp what Stevie's trying to tell her, she heads to the one place she hopes will have the answers: the library.

The Deepest Breath by Meg Grehan (The Space Between) is the book that Stevie needs: a mirror into the life of a queer middle schooler looking for a book "about a princess and a princess." Grehan explores the importance and power of representation, particularly for younger queer kids. Through Grehan's free verse, readers have a direct line to Stevie's head and heart--with her feelings, thoughts and idiosyncrasies on full display, readers are able to empathize with Stevie.

Grehan not only perfectly conveys the different manifestations of Stevie's anxiety, she also artfully captures the voice of an 11-year-old who may not have all the words but still tries to express her feelings in her own way: "Every single thing... is good/ And happy/ And real/ And true." The Deepest Breath is wholesome, powerful and essential. --Lana Barnes, freelance reviewer and proofreader

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